The present invention relates to conveyor systems, and more particularly to conveyor systems having a plurality of feed conveyors that release articles to a merge conveyor, wherein the articles are eventually delivered to a sortation conveyor.
Conveyor systems used for transporting articles throughout a warehouse, factory, or other business facility generally include a pick area, transport conveyors, a merge subsystem, and a sortation conveyor that sorts articles onto a plurality of takeaway conveyors that subsequently transport the articles to their intended destination within the facility. The pick area (or areas) generally refer to areas where articles are initially loaded onto the conveyor system, either manually or by machines. After the articles are loaded onto the conveyors in the pick area, they are often transported to an area of the facility where multiple lines of conveyors merge from the different pick areas of the facility. Typically, articles are accumulated upstream of this merge area so that the articles may be more efficiently merged onto one or more merge conveyors. Once the articles are merged, they are transported to one or more sortation conveyors where the articles are sorted according to their intended destination.
The various aspects of the present invention relate to the accumulation of articles, as well as the merging of the articles and the subsequent sortation of the articles.